Rajpriya Gautam

The U.S. government drew on its Cold War history on Friday with the launch of a new “China House” initiative that aims to coordinate foreign policy towards Beijing.  The new office will house an expanded inter-agency team of China experts who will focus on competition with China in security, technology, and diplomacy, among other realms. The effort is reminiscent of the CIA’s “Russia House” which performed a similar function during the Cold War with the Soviet Union. (CNN) The Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning is leading the PLA Navy’s most powerful strike group into the Western Pacific for a year-end exercise.   The carrier was accompanied by both standard and stealth-guided missile destroyers, re-supply ships, and, according to experts, several nuclear-powered attack submarines. Analysts believe the show of force may also be part of the PLAN’s efforts to signal to its rivals that it remains unaffected by the massive COVID outbreak in China.  (SOUTH CHINA MORNING ...

The SSRC’s mapping of scholarship on the relationship between China and South and Latin America and the Caribbean shows that the entanglement of geopolitics and global economics dominate the field. However, the report shows research on the social and environmental impacts of the relationship and the changing realities of migration are increasingly opening new areas of research: Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis. Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations. Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in Africa and throughout the Global South. China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening. Subscribe today for unlimited access. Monthly $15/mo OR Yearly $149/yr (17% Savings) Already a subscriber? Log in Click Here to Learn More The post Two Themes Dominate Latin America-China Studies <div class="cap-padlock"> <svg versi...

The Kenyan economist David Ndii published a fascinating paper casting doubt on one of the most fundamental assumptions in Africa-China relations: that the key to boosting growth is infrastructure. Ndii, a prominent critic of the ‘first build a road’ infrastructure-focused orthodoxy, compared development outputs between Africa and South Asia. He argues that instead of trying to emulate Asia’s low-wage manufacturing model, Africa should focus on agriculture-led growth. Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis. Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations. Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in Africa and throughout the Global South. China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening. Subscribe today for unlimited access. Monthly $15/mo OR Yearly $149/yr (17% Savings) Already a subscriber? Log in Click Here to Learn More The post Will Infrastru...

The Chinese and Indian militaries are building out transportation infrastructure high up in the Himalayas along their disputed border known as the Line of Actual Control,  according to new satellite imagery published by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute . “While India maintains control of the commanding position on the plateau’s high ground, China has compensated for this disadvantage by building new military and transport infrastructure that allows it to get troops quickly into the area,” the report said. Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis. Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations. Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in Africa and throughout the Global South. China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening. Subscribe today for unlimited access. Monthly $15/mo OR Yearly $149/yr (17% Savings) Already a subscriber? Log in C...

There’s growing excitement in some corners of Washington, D.C., that Apple’s drive to shift production to other countries in Asia is a sign of progress in the  ongoing effort to decouple U.S. manufacturing from China . While Apple’s directives that its suppliers build new factories in Vietnam and India are garnering a lot of attention, it’s also masking the underlying reality that it  will take years, if not decades, for the company to end its reliance on China . Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis. Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations. Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in Africa and throughout the Global South. China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening. Subscribe today for unlimited access. Monthly $15/mo OR Yearly $149/yr (17% Savings) Already a subscriber? Log in Click Here to Learn More The post Why Vietn...

The Tanzanian government and an unspecified Chinese contractor signed a $2.2 billion contract on Tuesday to build a 2,561km rail line from Dar es Salaam to the Lake Victoria city of Mwanza. It’s important to note that even though Chinese contractors will build this extension of Tanzania’s Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), the Chinese government is not providing any of the financing. So far, Tanzania has spent $10.4 billion on its new SGR.  (AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE) Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis. Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations. Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in Africa and throughout the Global South. China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening. Subscribe today for unlimited access. Monthly $15/mo OR Yearly $149/yr (17% Savings) Already a subscriber? Log in Click Here to Learn More The post Chinese Contractor ...

Ghana announced  it will suspend payments on most of its debt to bondholders, other commercial lenders, and foreign governments, officially putting it in default. The announcement comes a week after a staff-level meeting with the IMF and  a ratings downgrade . Ghana’s economy is spiraling, with 70%-100% of government revenue going to debt servicing and domestic inflation hitting 50%, triggering protests. Out of its $28.4 billion external debt , $1.9 billion is owed to China, only about 6.7%. In contrast, Eurobond debt makes up 46.1% ($13.1 billion.)  Bondholders said  the relatively small share of Chinese debt will likely smooth the debt restructuring process, in contrast to countries like Zambia.  Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis. Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations. Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in Africa and thro...

One of China’s most senior Africa diplomats, Special Representative Liu Yuxi,  was in Ghana  on the same day the country’s finance ministry announced it would suspend debt repayments to external creditors. Liu appears to be on a regional tour of West Africa  , so it’s highly unlikely that his visit was in any way linked to the current crisis. It’s unclear if Liu and his hosts discussed rescheduling payments of Ghana’s outstanding $1.9 billion of Chinese loans. Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis. Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations. Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in Africa and throughout the Global South. China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening. Subscribe today for unlimited access. Monthly $15/mo OR Yearly $149/yr (17% Savings) Already a subscriber? Log in Click Here to Learn More The post One of ...

As Ghana sinks into debt distress, many are looking to Zambia’s debt restructuring process for clues on how China will feature. Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema provided a glimpse into his government’s thinking about Chinese debt at a  Council on Foreign Relations event last week. Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis. Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations. Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in Africa and throughout the Global South. China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening. Subscribe today for unlimited access. Monthly $15/mo OR Yearly $149/yr (17% Savings) Already a subscriber? Log in Click Here to Learn More The post Zambia’s President Hichilema Clarifies Chinese Loans’ Role in Debt Crisis <div class="cap-padlock"> <svg version="1.1" xml:space="preserve" viewBox="0 ...

At 12% of Africa’s total external debt, China didn’t cause the current wave of debt distress hitting the continent. But the crisis presents Beijing with a dilemma: should it strongarm these countries to get its money back or trade economic losses for diplomatic gains? This is the main argument in an interesting and timely  new paper from the UK-based research institution Chatham House . The researchers wrote: “Far from a sophisticated strategy to expropriate African assets, profligate Chinese lending in its early phases may have created a debt trap for China – deeply entangling it with obdurate and increasingly assertive African partners.” The paper argues that cooperation between China and traditional Western lenders is the only way out of the impasse. However, they also argue that disagreements between Western governments and its private sector are a significant barrier to progress. Chatham House Charts Next Steps for Africa’s Debt Distressed Economies: WESTERN LENDERS...

Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou came under intense criticism from fellow leaders within the South American trading bloc known as Mercosur earlier this month  over his government’s moves to strike a free trade agreement with China and to enter the Trans-Pacific Partnership  (aka CPTPP) trade bloc. Why are other Mercosur members upset?  The main concern of other members is that bilateral deals, especially with major powers like China, will undermine the ability to negotiate as a bloc. “The solution is not for each one of us just to do our own thing,”  said Argentine President Alberto Fernandez . Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis. Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations. Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in Africa and throughout the Global South. China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening. Subscribe today...

While India’s notoriously outspoken media is filled with anger over the December 9th skirmish between Indian and Chinese troops along the disputed border in the Himalayas, it’s a very different situation in China, where the country’s tightly controlled mainstream media outlets have been largely silent on the issue. There have been no accusations, no comments, and even the few reports that did talk about it only mentioned the responses from the Indian media and the Chinese Foreign Ministry, according to the CGSP’s China Editor Han Zhen. “Interestingly, the voices from the mainstream media seem to be placing more emphasis on stability and conflict resolution, which is not quite the “condemnation” and “confrontation” tone we’ve always had,” they added. Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis. Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations. Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement ...

Just days after it wrapped up a summit with African leaders, the Biden administration is following through on its promise to send more high-level officials to the continent.  First up is Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen , who will visit Senegal, Zambia, and South Africa from January 17-28. Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis. Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations. Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in Africa and throughout the Global South. China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening. Subscribe today for unlimited access. Monthly $15/mo OR Yearly $149/yr (17% Savings) Already a subscriber? Log in Click Here to Learn More The post Get Ready For Lots of Tough Talk on Chinese Debt When Janet Yellen Travels to Africa Next Month <div class="cap-padlock"> <svg version="1.1" xml:space="preserv...

More details about Sri Lanka’s economic recovery program is emerging as the country struggles to restructure its debt, about a fifth of which is owed to China.  The country’s Foreign Minister, Ali Sabry told Reuters his government is expecting as much as $5 billion in loans next year from multilateral agencies in addition to its deal with the IMF deal. The government is also aiming to raise up to $3 billion via restructuring of state assets.  (REUTERS) Iran is angry with China for seemingly siding with the United Arab Emirates over the status of three disputed islands in the Persian Gulf.  The Foreign Ministry on Saturday summoned ambassador Chang Hua to express its “strong dissatisfaction” about the language used in the joint statement published at the conclusion of the China-Gulf Cooperation Council summit on Friday. Iran says the status of the islands is not up for negotiation.  (ANADOLU AGENCY) Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news ...

While the Chinese public seems disinterested in the U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit, China’s state media is rolling out the invective.  The state-owned nationalist tabloid Global Times published two highly negative articles dismissing the summit.  I n a front-page op-ed , it wrote:  Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis. Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations. Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in Africa and throughout the Global South. China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening. Subscribe today for unlimited access. Monthly $15/mo OR Yearly $149/yr (17% Savings) Already a subscriber? Log in Click Here to Learn More The post Chinese State Media Strident on Summit <div class="cap-padlock"> <svg version="1.1" xml:space="preserve" viewBox="0 0 735 980" > <defs /><...

Last week’s violent border skirmish between Chinese and Indian soldiers sent the already frosty relationship into the deep freeze. However, much still remains unknown about the incident and its wider implications.  Ananth Krishnan , the Beijing correspondent for The Hindu, compiled a wide range of sources to map out the events in his regular  The India China Newsletter . Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis. Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations. Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in Africa and throughout the Global South. China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening. Subscribe today for unlimited access. Monthly $15/mo OR Yearly $149/yr (17% Savings) Already a subscriber? Log in Click Here to Learn More The post What Actually Happened in the China-India Border Fight Last Week? <div class="cap-padlock"> ...

While the state media reaction in China to the U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit has been predictably negative, Chinese social media has largely ignored the event completely.  China Global South Project China editor Han Zhen wrote: “Nowadays, most Chinese media outlets are very cautious about allowing comments, and when it comes to political topics, they usually close the comment section or only keep a few harmless ones. Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis. Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations. Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in Africa and throughout the Global South. China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening. Subscribe today for unlimited access. Monthly $15/mo OR Yearly $149/yr (17% Savings) Already a subscriber? Log in Click Here to Learn More The post Chinese Social Media Largely Ignores U.S.-Africa Summit <div...

While the Biden administration is trying to steer discussions of its Africa summit away from its geopolitical competition with China,  the opposite is true in Beijing . At a press briefing on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson  Wang Wenbin framed the summit  as a geopolitical tool:  “We are glad to see that all sides of the international community are paying more attention to Africa, but we firmly oppose using Africa as an arena for great power rivalry and using African strategy as a tool to limit and attack other countries’ cooperation with Africa.” Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis. Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations. Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in Africa and throughout the Global South. China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening. Subscribe today for unlimited access. Monthly $15/mo O...

Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis. Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations. Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in Africa and throughout the Global South. China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening. Subscribe today for unlimited access. Monthly $15/mo OR Yearly $149/yr (17% Savings) Already a subscriber? Log in Click Here to Learn More The post Prominent Africa Scholar Shapes Beijing’s Summit Talking Points <div class="cap-padlock"> <svg version="1.1" xml:space="preserve" viewBox="0 0 735 980" > <defs /><g transform="translate(-132.5,-10)"><g ><g ><g ><path fill="#c5c5c5" d="M 745,412.9 V 255 C 745,119.9 635.1,10 500,10 364.9,10 255,119.9 255,255 V 412.9 H 377.5 V 255 c 0,-67.6 54.9,-122.5 122.5,-122.5 67...

The governments of Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo  signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the United States  to develop an electric vehicle supply chain in their countries. The exact details of the agreement are still unclear, but it likely involves refining cobalt – a key mineral used in e-vehicle batteries.  The DRC and Zambia are the world’s two largest cobalt producers, and concern has been rising in the U.S. that 80% of the world’s cobalt refining happens in China. The two countries have long called for support to boost refining capacity. China has supported such initiatives in  Zimbabwe  and  Indonesia  but has so far avoided similar pressure from Kinshasa and Lusaka. This agreement could change that. Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis. Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations. Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese eng...

Global coverage of the U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit pointed out how little energy has been invested in the relationship in contrast to China’s ongoing diplomatic outreach. Kate Fisher, a correspondent for Singapore’s Channel New Asia, summed it up: “President Biden is yet to visit Sub-Saharan Africa and has met with fewer African heads of state than either President Obama or President Trump at this same point in their tenures.” Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis. Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations. Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in Africa and throughout the Global South. China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening. Subscribe today for unlimited access. Monthly $15/mo OR Yearly $149/yr (17% Savings) Already a subscriber? Log in Click Here to Learn More The post Global Coverage Zeroes In On Weak U.S.-Africa Engagemen...

While U.S. officials have sought to downplay competition with China in Africa ahead of this week’s leaders summit in Washington, D.C., Chinese scholars and Communist Party-run media, on the other hand, are eager to draw comparisons between how the two powers engage with the continent. Both the Chinese and English-language editions of the nationalist Global Times tabloid published a series of articles on Monday with the basic message that whatever the U.S. does in Africa is a) political, b) ineffective and c) disingenuous. Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis. Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations. Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in Africa and throughout the Global South. China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening. Subscribe today for unlimited access. Monthly $15/mo OR Yearly $149/yr (17% Savings) Already a subscriber? Log i...

China may not be a prominent topic of discussion at this week’s U.S.-Africa summit but it was on Monday at a high-profile conference that featured a number of senior U.S. and Chinese officials. The event was organized by the seven-week-old media start-up Semafor and featured appearances by U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. Qin Gang, along with dozens of well-known business leaders, scholars, and analysts. Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis. Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations. Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in Africa and throughout the Global South. China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening. Subscribe today for unlimited access. Monthly $15/mo OR Yearly $149/yr (17% Savings) Already a subscriber? Log in Click Here to Learn More The post China Was a Key Theme at High Profil...

China’s ambassador to the United States, Qin Gang, was among the keynote speakers at Monday’s Semafor Africa Summit in Washington, D.C.  Although Qin has never been posted to Africa and doesn’t have any firsthand experience with the issues,  according to his official bio , he’s nonetheless a very important figure given his recent promotion to China’s elite Central Committee and one of the leading candidates to replace outgoing Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis. Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations. Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in Africa and throughout the Global South. China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening. Subscribe today for unlimited access. Monthly $15/mo OR Yearly $149/yr (17% Savings) Already a subscriber? Log in Click Here to Learn More The post “China-Africa Relati...

U.S. Deputy Commerce Secretary Don Graves said the quiet part out loud on Monday at the Semafor Africa Summit in Washington, D.C., when he acknowledged that American stakeholders had fallen far behind China in terms of economic engagement in Africa. Graves, though, like so many of his U.S. government peers, still apparently believes that China imports large quantities of labor to work on infrastructure projects throughout the continent. While that claim is still widely believed among many U.S. officials,  it is no longer accurate according to independent research : Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis. Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations. Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in Africa and throughout the Global South. China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening. Subscribe today for unlimited access. Monthly $15/mo OR Yearly $1...

For the most part, African publics in 27 countries across the continent have similar views of U.S. and Chinese global leadership,  according to data from the international polling agency Gallup . U.S. favorability is ahead of China’s by just eight percent. Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis. Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations. Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in Africa and throughout the Global South. China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening. Subscribe today for unlimited access. Monthly $15/mo OR Yearly $149/yr (17% Savings) Already a subscriber? Log in Click Here to Learn More The post Poll: African Publics Rate U.S. Leadership Higher Than China’s But Not By Much <div class="cap-padlock"> <svg version="1.1" xml:space="preserve" viewBox="0 0 735 980" > ...

It appears that the Democratic Republic of Congo and other African countries that produce strategic resources used to manufacture electric vehicle batteries may be sidelined by the new U.S. climate law known as the Inflation Reduction Act or IRA. A key part of the IRA’s mission was to get China out of the U.S. supply chain for critical resources but the problem is when Chinese mining companies in places like the DRC dominate the cobalt and copper sectors, then that makes those metals ineligible to be sold into the U.S. market in accordance with the new law. Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis. Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations. Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in Africa and throughout the Global South. China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening. Subscribe today for unlimited access. Monthly $15/mo OR Yearly $149/yr (17% S...

Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was one of  at least a dozen heads of state to do a brief meet-and-greet with Xi Jinping  during the China-Arab summit in Saudi Arabia on Friday. The interaction was wholly unremarkable, but the fact that Xi would even choose to meet with Mohamud and publish a photo is important, given that Somalia twice this year has aligned itself with China’s critics on the extremely sensitive issue of human rights in Xinjiang. Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis. Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations. Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in Africa and throughout the Global South. China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening. Subscribe today for unlimited access. Monthly $15/mo OR Yearly $149/yr (17% Savings) Already a subscriber? Log in Click Here to Learn More The post Xi-Mohamud Handshak...

It’s rare for the U.S. and China to host major regional summits less than a week apart. But with the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit set to get underway in Washington, D.C., just a few days after the China-Arab Summit concluded in Riyadh, observers of diplomatic protocol will get a clear view of the different approaches the Presidents of these powers adopt in these kinds of fora. Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis. Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations. Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in Africa and throughout the Global South. China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening. Subscribe today for unlimited access. Monthly $15/mo OR Yearly $149/yr (17% Savings) Already a subscriber? Log in Click Here to Learn More The post Contrasting U.S. and Chinese Diplomatic Styles on Full Display This Week <div class="cap-padlock...